Global mapping of randomised trials related articles published in high-impact-factor medical journals: a cross-sectional analysis

Abstract

Background: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) provide the most reliable information to inform clinical practice and patient care. We aimed to map global clinical research publication activity through RCT-related articles in highimpact-factor medical journals over the past five decades. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of articles published in the highest ranked medical journals with an impact factor > 10 (according to Journal Citation Reports published in 2017). We searched PubMed/MEDLINE (from inception to December 31, 2017) for all RCT-related articles (e.g. primary RCTs, secondary analyses and methodology papers) published in high-impact-factor medical journals. For each included article, raw metadata were abstracted from the Web of Science. A process of standardization was conducted to unify the different terms and grammatical variants and to remove typographical, transcription and/or indexing errors. Descriptive analyses were conducted (including the number of articles, citations, most prolific authors, countries, journals, funding sources and keywords). Network analyses of collaborations between countries and co-words are presented. Results: We included 39,305 articles (for the period 1965-2017) published in forty journals. The Lancet (n = 3593; 9.1%), the Journal of Clinical Oncology (n = 3343; 8.5%) and The New England Journal of Medicine (n = 3275 articles; 8.3%) published the largest number of RCTs. A total of 154 countries were involved in the production of articles.

Process evaluations undertaken alongside randomised controlled trials in the hospital setting: A scoping review

“…It was surprising that we only identified 29 articles (14 trials) considering the large and increasing quantity of RCTs published every year [ 52 ]. This finding suggests greater efforts are needed to ensure researchers understand the importance of undertaking process evaluations in the acute hospital setting especially the barriers and facilitators to intervention uptake.…”

Language as Multi-Level Barrier in Health Research and the Way Forward

“…Much of the impactful literature globally (e.g., research articles and books) has been written in a dominant language (e.g., English, Spanish, Chinese). 9 Authors commonly prefer to publish in these languages, most commonly English, to increase the visibility and impact of their publication. 10 , 11 However, these selective preferences may act as a barrier to research dissemination for researchers who are not fluent in English.…”

“…Researchers who speak languages other than English and that have a greater impact, such as Spanish, French, or German, are still overrepresented in high-income countries. 9 The result is an omission of most researchers, mainly from LMICs where these languages are often not an additional language or the researchers are not fluent in English.…”

Evaluating the online impact of reporting guidelines for randomised trial reports and protocols: a cross-sectional web-based data analysis of CONSORT and SPIRIT initiatives

“…The number of randomised trial related articles published in prominent medical journals has increased considerably in recent decades (Catalá-López et al, 2020 ). Randomised trials, when appropriately conducted and reported, can provide the most reliable information on the efficacy of interventions for informing healthcare decision-making.…”